Why? It’s funded, as it says, by the EU. That is the EU that has massively expanded the economies of all countries in Europe over the last 30+ years by opening trade and opportunities. Viewing it as a zero-sum, money in, money out game, is woefully wrong-headed.

I think there were very many reasons why 17m voted Leave, some actually more connected with the EU than others, but it is a bit disingenuous now to say, as Leave leaders have, that the £350m figure was not an important factor. Presumably its total irrelevance explains why they put it on the side of their bus and were constantly photographed and…[Read more]

The £350 million on the bus and the whole Leave campaign might have convinced some people to vote leave but I think that most people had either made up their minds about the EU before any debate began or voted leave just to annoy the politicians.

In order to broaden my right wing, nationalist outlook I have taken to reading other papers than the…[Read more]

It has been ingrained in certain areas of the media over the last 20 years that the EU is a bureaucratic deadweight holding the UK back, some people will believe this even if the evidence is right in front of them.

I personals know a person who voted brexit who lives and works in north wales who works in a German owned factory which was funded by…[Read more]

In my opinion some people are looking at things in the wrong way. There’s another way of looking at the EU, which is this. However much characters in the past, and characters today like Juncker think it’s ‘their’ project, it’s no such thing – it’s an inexorable development in a world of free trade, globalisation and individual freedom. It makes no…[Read more]

I have no problem with free trade, customs unions, common regulations, etc.

I do have a problem with free movement of labour when it skews the domestic labour conditions, handing over large sums of money to fund a political aim and having to accept european laws in a domestic setting.

It is/should be possible to share common goals and ambitions…[Read more]

I don’t think that quite covers this case. People were assured it would be in their best interests eg £350m a week for the NHS, you will keep all the same rights, countries will be queuing up to sign trade deals, it can all be sorted in a couple of quick meetings etc etc. Well it’s not quite panned out like that so I believe people should now be…[Read more]

For me I see no reason to pay any money to the EU, except for an administration fee, and have no wish to fund the development of other EU countries. Either all countries pay or none at all. And yes I know the argument that helping other countries develop increases their ability to buy things from us.

You seem a reasonable and realistic sort of guy so can I just ask this: since you seem resigned to the fact that we are not going to get the clean, painless Brexit we were assured would be ours for the taking during the referendum and since the overwhelming majority of business leaders and most economists seem to be convinced a hard Brexit will…[Read more]

Thanks for that very full reply. I can appreciate many of the points you raise and actually agree with a lot of them. We are now in a very unenviable position either way. However, in that trite old phrase, we start from where we are and I do believe that we are now reduced to picking the lesser of the evils. In my view that has to be a…[Read more]

“I see no reason to pay any money to the EU, except for an administration fee, and have no wish to fund the development of other EU countries. Either all countries pay or none at all. And yes I know the argument that helping other countries develop increases their ability to buy things from us.”

“I see no reason to pay any money to the EU, except for an administration fee, and have no wish to fund the development of other EU countries. Either all countries pay or none at all. And yes I know the argument that helping other countries develop increases their ability to buy things from us.”

Your last paragraph where you state that you were reasonably happy with the way things were going pre referendum goes to the heart of the matter.

17 million people didn’t share your view and voted for a change. We’ve argued as to the rights and wrongs of this decision for years now and your posts on this thread point out, quite rightly, how much…[Read more]

“Your last paragraph where you state that you were reasonably happy with the way things were going pre referendum goes to the heart of the matter.”

The things I wasn’t happy with stem from things we have little control over like economic cycles and from those we do like poor domestic government which has at best failed to effectively mitigate the…[Read more]

It just won’t, not for the better anyway. Brexit will not deliver economic growth, economic opportunities for the low skilled/poor or increased political accountability, there is always another scapegoat, the only question is for how long will it remain the other before the blame is focused on you (it’s already on me as a member of the ‘guardian…[Read more]

In my opinion anybody who doesn’t want to remain in the single market and a customs union, that allows the UK to make its own deals with countries outside of the EU, is making life difficult for themselves.

Unfortunately, for both the Labour party and the UK, the EU attaches conditions to membership of both the single market and the customs union…[Read more]